Mounting Losses Forces Arrowhead to Sell Insurance CUSO

Plagued with losses and the inability to turn a profit, the $851 million Arrowhead Credit Union said it has sold its insurance subsidiary, Sawyer Cook Insurance.

On Feb. 26, the firm was sold to another insurance company with offices in California and Colorado, Arrowhead CU CEO Larry Sharp confirmed with Credit Union Times. The sale price and name of the buyer was not disclosed.

"It had losses that we did not want," Sharp said. "If you got a company that's not producing income, the decision is to either fix it or sell it."

According to Sawyer Cook's Web site, the firm was founded in 1924 in Redlands, Calif. under the name of Dexter, Sawyer Real Estate & Insurance. In 1960, it merged with Richard Cook, the company under the new nameplate Sawyer Cook Insurance. Arrowhead bought the firm in 2002 through the Arrowhead Financial Group. The subsidiary also offered investment services through the Arrowhead Investment Center.

Sharp said the CU has an agreement with the firm that allows it to continue serving Arrowhead members. The agreement does not have an end date but it can be canceled with notice, he added. The number of or total dollar amount of members' insurance policies was not available.

"The real issue for us is we're able to move off losses we were having on an ongoing basis. Being in this economy, that was a good decision for us," Sharp said. "At the same time, we tried to preserve service to our members with the service agreement."